I am
by Razorheart31
Summary: It was supposed to be over, but then all hell broke loose. A precious one is lost and all hope seems to be lost. How can they defeat her now? Well he is not about to give up, he still has to talk to someone else. Rated T for some swearing. NaruHina, SasuSaku, Nejiten, Shikatema, gaamatsu, konohana. OC characters. SPOILER (Set in the battle with Kaguya). UPDATE: Epilogue added.
1. The End

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the characters associated with the franchise. This story is just one that has been in my head and should there be someone else with a similar one I apologize but this story is in no way an imitation, or alteration, of another one.

It was almost over. They were so close to the end. All they had to do was extend their hands and finish the sealing of Kaguya. But alas, it was not meant to be that way. Her reflexes outmatched those of Team 7and what was supposed to be the end of the draded war soon turned to their own. As she jumped out of the reach of Naruto and Sasuke's hands she threw three chackra rods meant for each of their hearts. It was no problem for the hosts of the Rikuodu Sennin's abilities, but Sakura was not so lucky. She could do nothing but stare in horror as the rod got closer, and closer. Time seemed to be slowing down. Naruto turned around and his mouth was open agape, as if he were screaming her name, but the words could not reach her ears. As she turned to look at Sasuke for the last time she saw something that she had thought impossible long ago. She saw fear. His cold ebony gaze was broken. He slowly opened his mouth while extending his arms.

"SAAAKURAAAAA!" that she did hear. She only closed her eyes waiting for the pain and coldness of death. But it never came. Instead of hearing steel ripping through flesh she heard the whisper of the wind. And then... a loud thud. It was not her who had fallen, it was not Naruto either.

"Oh... Please no...". With fear she opened her eyes to confirm her doubt.

"SAASUKEEEE!" He was laying in the ground in a crimson pool. His once fierce stare was weakening and from his mouth a thin stream of blood ran freely. His white kimono was now red with the blood he shed... for hadn't been a second since she had touched the ground with her toes and she was already keeling by his side. A single tear fell of her cheek and landed on him.

"Why? Why do that for me?" She started sobbing through the words but her demeanor changed all too soon. "The obnoxious girl that you always looked down! Why! God damn it you hated me! Why do something as stupid as that when the world needed you? When Naruto and Kakashi-sensei needed you! I... need you..." Once again her head was lowered, but this time her tears ran freely. Loud sobs filled the once calm air.

"SASUKE!" Was all Kakashi could muster. He was laying in the ground, one hand keeping his balance, the other griping the ground.

"... Sasuke..." Naruto was looking at the ground and would have started crying if it were not for three words that he had never expected to hear.

"I... am sorry..." His voice was weak and as soon as he talked he started coughing blood. Sakura looked up hopeful, yet afraid. "I ...n-never meant... to cause y-yo-you... of all people... pain..." Sakura was speechless and did nothing but listened in complete shock to the words being spoken by the raven boy, who , despite everything that had happened, all of their fights and killing attempts, despite every ounce of the tons of suffering he had caused, she still loved. She still loved him. Sasuke Uchiha, the man now lying in front of her.

"Why?" it was a simple question, whispered with pain."Why would you save me?" He was silent for a few seconds until... he smiled. It was not unlike the proud smirks that they were all used to, this smile was sincere.

"When I... was coming here... I made a stop in... Konohagakure..." The whole world was quiet as he spoke, even Kaguya was silent, wondering why someone with such raw power, would sacrifice himself for the likes of her.

"I had to... talk to the Hokages... ask them... about being a shinobi... They were all talking... About sacrifices... But then Tobirama... he said something..." His words stopped, for he suddenly coughed even more, blood now ran freely through his nose as well.

"He initially said that... My people... The Uchihas... Were heartless... He said that... We were willing... To kill someone... Precious to us... If it meant that we... Got stronger..." His gaze shifted from his teammate to the sky, now dark and still, as if the heavens were waiting for him to speak.

"But then he... Said that... Despite all of these... Claims, he respected... My people... And in some ways... He loved them..." Everyone was shocked at his words, every citizen in Konoha knew that their Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, was quite known for having deep hatred towards the Uchihas for supposedly tainting his brother's dream.

"He said that he... Had initially thought... That we held... No feelings like... Love or friendship... But he soon rea...lized that we... Of e-everyone he... Knew... We loved the most..." Now his black eyes stared into green ones. His hand slowly reached out to caress her cheek. Blood dripped on her clother but she didn't mind. She raised her hand to meet his. /span/p

"My people... Held the most regard for... Love... We loved s-so... Much that... Loosing our precious... People... Awakened furious strength... " Sakura could only look at him in awe, they were both standing still, neither one moving a single inch.

"Sakura Haruno... Even if at first... I hated you... I know now that...I-I lo- lov-" She gasped but was quickly shut when his lips crashed into hers. She could taste his blood and immediately realized what was going on. But when she was about to kiss him back, he fell back down. This time he released a final, long breath with one final thing to say.

"I... Love... You..." with that his head hit the earth. The dry sound it of his fall echoed through the battlefield.

"Huh? S-Sasuke?" she griped his collared and lifted him up to meet her face, but his eyes did not open. "Sasuke! You do not get to do this. You cannot just say you love me and then just, just leave! I love you, damn it, I LOVE YOU! Wake up, don't leave me! SASUKEEE!" The screams she released into the air pierced the heart of Naruto, and in the middle of their grieving a single laugh was heard.

"Love, what a petty feeling." Naruto was the only one who stood up to meet Kaguya. "Love is what brought this war in the first place, was it not? The love of power. Now you see, boy, you have brought this upon yourself. Your friend was the only one capable of helping you defeat me, now whatever shall you do?" her laugh was maniacal, resonating through his head as a hammer, giving him blow after blow.

"He is not your joke..." at the mention of these words she stopped her laughter and looked sternly straight at him.

"He was a fool! Who would do something so stupid as to throw themselves in the middle of an incoming attack! It is just pathetic!" She looked as she was about to laugh again but this time is was Naruto who raised his voice.

"I will tell you who, a hero. Someone who truly wants to end a fight and not just win it." She looked truly puzzled, but quickly retaliated with her own answer.

"By now you should realize that peace is impossible! Man has natural need to fight. THIS! That i have given you, the eternal sleep of the tsukoyomi is peace. All will have their dreams come true. What is the difference?"

"I will tell you the difference!" This time even Kakashi and Sakura turned to look at him.

"People have the right to choose for themselves. You can't just put them to sleep. NO. That is not how it is done. You don't just force happiness onto someone. You have to let them find it." This time Sakura stood by his side ready to speak as well./

"Some might get lost in the way," she looked back at Sasuke."But in the end all you can, and have, to do is believe in them and give them a reason to return." Kakashi now joined his former pupils.

"Believing yourself to be better than someone is not how you prevent fights," his thoughts drifted back to his friend Obito, and to his own young self. "Most times it is that belief that causes them!"

"We are all the same, we all have something to hope for! And now instead of ending the conflicts you so despised, you have caused the biggest one yet." Kaguya was now at a loss of words. The only thing she did was stare at them while she was slowly floating back to the ground.

"You killed my friend, my brother! And if this keeps on you will kill every single person on the planet as well!" Now instead of determination his words carried anger.

"Is this what you wanted?! To become one of the MONSTERS you wanted to destroy?! Then congratulations! Mission accomplished." His whole body relaxed as he took a deep breath.

"I can't let you continue on like this, i cannot let you take more lives than the ones you already have." He started to walk towards Kaguya. She only raised her stare to meet his.

"Even if i have to fight you a thousand times, I will stop you. I can't give up. Because that is my nindo." Kaguya suddenly stood up and held Naruto up by the throat, but instead of fear or frustration he showed calmness.

"Who are YOU to tell me what is right?" A small smirk appeared on his face as he was about to answer.

"I am a simple shinobi." Kaguya face suddenly grew angry, she threw him across the field, crushing gigantic rocks that were in its trajectory.

"Naruto!" Sakura and Kakashi tried to go to him but were pinned two the ground by chackra rods.

"WHY do you insist to keep fighting? It's over. Your friend is dead, you cannot seal me anymore." Naruto stood up with a little discomfort and brushed the dirt of.

"That it is impossible to win, does not mean that I should stop trying, it is the more reason to keep going." He started to walk towards her. "To prove to you that you were wrong." She gnarled at his words and rushed forward with the intentions to end his life. But then a giant tree branch slammed her away. When she regained her footing she saw the reincarnated hokage with someone else she recognized.

"Hagoromo. It has been a while." The sage's face did not change in presence of his mother.

"Mother, once again I am forced to stop you." Kaguya laughed maniacally before answering him.

"You are nothing more than a shadow of your former self. How can you possibly expect to defeat me?"The Rikoudu Sennin shook his head in disapproval.

"I am not your oponent. He is." His hand pointed out to Naruto.

"Successor of Ashura, I will bestow upon you one final gift, i will grant you the whole amount of my powers, you will have 5 minutes, do not fail us. Hokages you know what to do."

"Hai!" All responded in unison and formed a circle around Naruto and the sage. They started performing several hand seals faster than the eye could follow. The grounds suddenly started to glow a bright purple. The sage raised his staff and suddenly encrusted it in the grown. His entire body was being sapped into the staff which then floated over to Naruto. When he touched it he felt pain. More than any he had ever felt in his life, but then he felt revitalized. Through his hands ran the chackra of the ancestor of the shinobi. When he looked back at the hokages they were starting to disappear as well. The last one was his own father.

"Dad!" Naruto tried to go to him but he lifted his arm, signaling him to stop.

"Don't worry about me, Naruto. I will be fine, your mother is waiting. Just promise me that you will always do the right thing. No matter what." He smiled at his son before being completely vanished from the realm of the living.

"You bet I will!" Naruto turned around towards Kaguya, looking sternly at her.

"It is you against me now. No more bullshit." Kaguya furiously charged towards him again. But this time he stopped her dead on her tracks with the staff. One more swing and she was sent flying back, landing roughly on a crater.

"No! Impossible," she started to scream and frenetically tried to hit, kick, and even scratch Naruto, but it was to no avail. He was now stronger. She jumped back to think about the situation and suddenly started to smirk. "No matter, you only have a couple of minutes left, what will you when your time runs out?"

"I will simply have to make the most out of what i currently have." This answer puzzled her but it was soon clear what he meant to do when she felt the edge of the staff on her head. Within minutes she felt her strength being sucked out of her and being stored on the staff. She started to feel cold, she knew that death was not far away, but before it came the staff was removed from her head and instead Naruto chose to throw it towards the juubi. This beast in return released a monstrous roar before being impaled by the staff. With the first touch the whole beast exploded in a giant beam of light. From it rose nine different colored spheres of light. Each of these entities spread across the horizon, one resting within Naruto. Kaguya fell to the ground in defeat and denial.

"Impossible, HOW! How did you do that!" Then the circumstances of the situation hit her. Before her was a man who was now far stronger than her because most of her strength had been removed. She was weaponless and most of all, she was now mortal.

"Who are you?" Her face showed fear while his showed courage.

"I am an orphan, whose parents died protecting their home." He started to walk forward but she stepped back.

"I am the student of two pervs whose knowledge far surpassed my own. I am the future Sixth Hokage. I am the successor of Ashura. I am the one who will stop you but most of all..." Kaguya had fallen down on a small rock and lifted her arms, bracing herself for a punch, but instead she found a hand. Stretched out to help her.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto." What she saw next left her breathless. He smiled at her. This time instead of slapping the hand away she took it. When she was up and about she started to walk towards the Juubi. She held out her hand and with powerful growls the giant beast started to shine brighter than any star, and its size was slowly reduced to nothing then from her palm rose 9 shining spheres of light, one of which found its way to Naruto's heart, the other eight disappeared on the horizon. Then she levitated high above them and spoke.

"The crimes of men I once thought unforgivable. I was so convinced of other's wickedness that I was blinded of my own." She looked down at Naruto. "My own sons were forced to kill me so that the world could rest in peace. I spent the decades of my life trying to achieve peace and in that time my mind was tainted with hatred and my eyes blinded by revenge. Who would have thought that I would be snapped to my senses by a mere foolish boy?" She started to form some hand seals that were all too familiar to Naruto.

"Wait... What are you doing?" He started to walk towards her but stopped when he saw that she was now far to high in the sky.

"I am redeeming my mistakes or at least some of them," she closed her eyes and her hands stood still as she finished her jutsu. "Gedo: Rinne Tensei no Jutsu!" Naruto knew that the jutsu how Nagato had done it would not kill her, but instead of a normal sized King of Hell a massive head emerged from the earth. It was at least as large as a bijuu. When its mouth opened the whole ground shaked forcing the remaining members of team 7 to the ground. And then a monsoon of green energy flew past them, rushing towards their lost hosts. And when they turned to look at the tree, the couldn't believe it. The giant structure was now withering as if it were a small flower in the winter. All of those who had been afflicted by its influence soon came back to their senses. And those who had been lost to the heavens were back.

"Neji..." it was but a whisper and before anyone could ask him what he had said he was running off towards the direction of his lots friend./span/p

"Sasuke?" Sakura was looking hopeful down at him but he would not return she was going to cry again when she heard Kaguya speak once more.

"This one is special." She held a single green orb on her palm and gave it to Sakura. "Do not loose him again." And for a brief second she smiled at the pinkette. But as soon as she had come to be she was no more in her place laid just sand. She had dissappeared as if she were an edo-tensei. After getting over the initial shock Sakura did not wait a single moment. She quickly pressed her hand firmly onto the brunette's chest.

"Come on you egotistical jerk, WAKE UP!" After a couple of seconds she lowered her head and whispered. "I knew it..."

"Insulting me is n-not gonna help..." She snapped back up and looked at his face.

"Sasuke?" his eyes opened revealing the ebony orbs she had come to love."SASUKE!" she hugged him and started to cry tears of joy. Sasuke raised his arms to return the gesture./span/p

"You were always so annoying." She turned his head to s inhale the scent of her hair. "How could i get addicted to you?" Sakura smiled and backed up enough to look at his face./span/p

"Because i am the only one who could stand all of your bullshit?" She started to get closer to him.

"And i am the only one who would do all of that bullshit in a bullshit attempt to woo you." He kissed her. It was not as romantic as she would have wanted and neither of them have had much practice, but to hell with that she was kissing the boy of her dreams, and he was the one who started it.

"Umm yeah i.. Um... I am going to go and see if the Hokage-Sama is ok... Bye" with those awkward words Kakashi was gone in a puff of smoke.

"Hnn"

"Oh fuck, again with the one liners, Uchiha?"

"Just shut up, Haruno." With that he claimed her lips again.

[Scene change]

"Neji could not remember where he was. All he could see was a bright flash of light and then he heard a voice.

""You've grown Neji." That voice, it was familiar.

"Otou-sama?" His father had long since left the world of the living. The event had left him with bitter resentment against his uncle Hiashi. But he had long since changed. And looking at his father now only brought him joy. He was standing near a campfire in the Hyuuga compound, many people were around looking happy as one could be, but Neji's interest was solely on the man standing in front of him. A smile formed upon the older Hyuuga's face. He started to walk towards his son but Neji was shocked beyond words.

"How did you get into this mess huh? You just got yourself killed!" This last part snapped him back to his senses.

"I did the same thing you did. I saved the life of someone who was worth more." This made Hizashi frown.

"My dear son, you are inferior to none. Not because of your blood or your skill. But because you are a human being. And your life is worth as much as anyone else's." Neji was conflicted by his answer.

"Then why did you give yourself to the captors instead of Hiashi?" Hizashi smiled warmly at the confused boy./span/p

" Hinata needed her father. The clan needed their leader. I knew back then that you were strong enough to fend for yourself because after all, you are my son."

"I was strong enough? You left me scarred, i lived for years thinking that the main family was to blame. I thought that our family was doomed to live in their shadow. I was messed up beyond fucking repair!" Neji was hysterical but his father remained calm.

"Yet here you are, all grown up and with your mind straight. From what you can tell me there is something else that happened to you in my absence. So give it up. Who helped you?" Neji was taken aback by such deduction but soon his face showed happiness.

"Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. He was a young boy who i thought a fool for many years. But i soon realized that his wisdom, to some extent, surpassed my own. His determination to show the village that he was worth something. Everyone called him a joke, a failure. I always looked down on him. When the time for the Chuunin exams came i was to fight him. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake and for a while it was but then the impossible. He had fooled me with a clone and had dug a tunnel with his bare hands. His nails were destroyed but he did it, he beat me. After that day i slowly pondered on my ways. I wanted to change and become the master of my own destiny because," he looked straight to the horizon, "if the town's idiot changed his fate why can't a hyuuga?"

"Now son that sounds lovely but..." Neji looked at his father in a questioning manner. "No man changes that much for another man... Unless you're gay?" At the mention of the last phrase Neji became really embarrassed.

"NO FATHER! It is not like that" Hizashi let out a deep and loud laugh.'

"Well then, what's her name?" Neji was puzzled by the sudden request.

"Huh?"

"What is the name of the girl that also pushed you to change?" Impressibly enough Neji was blushing. His entire face was reddening by the second. Although it was not near as red as Hinata's blush. Hizashi was nothing but entertained by the picture in front of him, he was truly enjoying it. "Aha! So there IS a girl! Who is she?"

"Her name is... Ten Ten."/

"Does she know?" Neji looked at his father. Hizashi had a stern expression.

"W-Well n-not exactly but..."

"Neji it is a simple question. Does she know?" Neji looked at the ground in defeat.

"No..." He closed his eyes and curled his hands into fists. "I've been meaning to say something but I just can't. Now it seems I will never be able to." A single teardrop fell from his cheek. But as it hit the ground it started to shine. The light was quickly covering him from head to toe.

"Looks like you might still have a chance after all, just do not fuck up this time. Promise me that Neji." Neji was astonished by the quick change of events but there was one thing he was certain of./span/p

"Wait no, i do not want to leave yet! I have to ask you some things!" Hizashi had a soft expression in his face and only smiled at his son.

"When the time comes I will be happy to answer them, for now just take care, my son." Hizashi waved to Neji as a farewell, but the latter had one more thing to say.

"I thank you for everything Otou-Sama. Goodbye and I-I love you." The last thing he saw was his father mouthing the words "I love you as well" but he did not hear anything. Next thing he knew he was in the middle of a field, or so it seemed. The sunlight shone on his face and he was forced to close his eyes. He stood up and looked around for some sign of his friends. It seemed like a lost cause until he saw two brown hair buns in the distance. He did not think twice before he sprinted full speed towards her. He stopped a few feet behind her just looking at her. Her slim figure with feminine traits contrasting with the words that came off her mouth. /span/p

"Fuck! God damn it this is worse than a hangover! SHIT! My head feals like a fucking bomb," Neji was slightly stunned by her sudden, and lovely, vocabulary.

"Ten Ten..." it was supposed to be a whisper but the words just flew right off his mouth. Apparently she heard it because her hands went from her face to her mouth. She turned around slowly and gasped loudly.

"N-Neji?" her faced went from shock to happiness as she quickly ran to where he was. He stretched out his arms in order to hug her but instead got something else.

SLAP!

"Ten Ten's hand was stretched out on the side of Neji's cheek which was now red because of the, rather powerful, slap.

"OUCH! What the hell woman, I come back from the dead and this is how you receive me I can just-" He could say no more for the woman who had slapped him was now kissing him.

"I could get used to it..." Ten Ten chuckled slightly but then punched him in the arm before breaking into tears again.

"Don't ever, EVER, scare me like that again..." She went to hug him. "I thought i had lost you..." Neji backed up enough to look at her face. He wiped her tears with his thumbs and then proceeded to speak.

"Do not worry Ten Ten. I will never again leave your side. You wish to know why?" He gently held her face with his hands.

"Why?" She whispered slowly closing the distance between them. Neji started to smirk before speaking again.

"Because I am one of the most stubborn Hyuugas in existence, I get what I want and sadly I have fallen for you," one of his hands snaked its way to the side of her hips bringing her closer,"for now I want only you." Ten Ten's hands roughly grabbed his kimono's collar and she stared sternly at his eyes. For a second he thought he was doomed but then she tentatively smiled.

"Well if you must know, I also have recently had feeling towards you," she leaned into his ear before continuing speaking, "but be warned, I am very possesive." He then proceeded to claim her lips with a smile. In her face the once tears of sadness, now flowed with joy. In the far other end of the field a golden haired man smiled knowingly.

"About fucking time!" He then proceeded to advance the other way remembering one other person he had thought of. "Hinata..."

[Scene change]

To say that he was frustrated would be an understatement. He had been looking for her for more than THREE hours. He had swept the battlefield five times now and had been using clones for the last hour. He had gone up and down the field, through entire forests, and across the blazing desert.

"Damn it Hina. Where are you?" Just then he spotted a dash of a dark purple hair, such a color would cause most people to only see darkness but he saw a light like no other.

"Hinata?" She was lying down in the middle of a dying pod of the once threatening tree. Her face peaceful and with a tender smile. Naruto could not help but think that she was now the most beautiful girl, no, woman in the world. Because she had grown quite a bit in the last few years, and Naruto was anything but oblivious to those changes. But pushing those thoughts aside he brushed her hair over her ear, and kissed her forehead.

"Hina-hime... Wake up.." her nose wrinkled in discomfort for being woken up from such a pleasant dream. Her eyes blinked slowly trying to get used to the bright lighting. She sat up while rubbing her eyes trying to get used to the still stinging light in her eyes. She closed her eyes for a good 5 minutes and then she slowly opened them. The first thing she saw was the bright smile that caused her limbs to turn into noodles and made her heart flutter in excitement. Just above that radiant smile laid two of the most beautiful eyes of a warm sky blue color that made anyone happy just by looking at them, or so she said. She had to blink repeatedly to make sure it was not a dream.

"N-Naruto-kun," she looked around everywhere trying to hide her increasing blush from Naruto. "Where are we?"She was still looking around when she felt something warm embracing her hand. She looked down to notice that Naruto's hand had encircled hers so she gave it a light squeeze. She then stared straight into his eyes and found that they had been staring at each other for a little too long, so she coughed a little trying to break the silence.

"I-Is it over, N-Naruto-kun." Although she knew the answer to that question she would feel a million times better if she heard it come out of his lips. Instead he smiled broadly and picked her up in a bear hug while spinning her around. She could only laugh at his antics.

"YES! Hina-hime it's finally over! THE WAR IS OVEEEER! WOOOOHOOOOO!" They were both laughing out loud now. Suddenly he stopped spinning and lowered her again.

"Your laugh Hinata..." She felt a little disappointed that he had dropped her nickname but instead she chose to focus on the words he had said.

"Sorry Na-Naruto-kun. I know m-my laugh is a l-little bad,"she looked down in embarrassment but soon felt a hand on her chin which gently lifter her gaze until it met his. He looked hurt and Hinata felt worse, laming it all on herself.

"Your laugh is the most beautiful sound that could possibly exist, and from now on I will do everything I can to make sure that you laugh every single day." Hinata was now shedding tears of pure happiness. No one had ever said that to her before. And the fact that the person saying those things was no other than Naruto, her Naruto.

"I don't want to hear you diminishing your worth like that ever again. You are not shameful. You are perfect. You're king and smart. Your beautiful and delicate. But most of all," he had stood up and was now offering her his hand. She lowly reached out for it herself and when she was on her feet he got closer to her and whispered, "you are the only person who, despite all the ridiculous things I did, despite what all of the villagers said, you still saw me for who I am and," he grabbed her hand and brought it to his face, softly kissing it, "you came to love me. I have no clue as to why someone like you would fall for someone like... Well someone like me." He looked to the ground as if he were ashamed of looking directly at her. She brought her other hand and grabbed his face, forcing him to look at her.

"I will no longer think less of myself if you want but please do me a favor and don't think of the past like that. You are amazing. Your kind, strong, determinated, you have the purest heart in the world, but most of all, you are the only one who can bring peace between the villages." She then kissed the tip of his nose and hovered just above his lips. "That is why I, Hyuuga Hinata, love you, Uzumaki Naruto." With that she forgot all about her shyness and hesitation and just kissed him. For a short moment Naruto was taken aback but soon enough he started to kiss her back. It was only a couple of seconds long but for them it was an eternity of perfection. When they were forced to stop the kiss to breath they leaned their foreheads together.

"Wow..." was the only thing both of them could say. They were so distracted with each other that they were oblivious to the people standing around them.

"Oi, Dobe," when Naruto turned around he saw his best friend standing next to his sensei and with an arm around her teammate's shoulders.

"Temee! You're okay!" completely ignoring the insult Sasuke just smirked.

"Of course, you will need my help to not screw up big time," Naruto pouted his as if he were hurt by the insult and suddenly loud roar erupted. But it was no longer made of anger, if one heard attentively enough it was laughter. All of the original shinobi army was united as one. Naruto took Hinata's hand into his own and stepped towards the crowds of people waiting for him to speak.

"This war is finally over, though it cost us a lot of good people and energy, we are finally victorious, and now those who were once the enemy I know consider friends. Though they have left us we shall remember them as heroes. This day won't be forgotten soon, I just hope that the peace between out villages lasts just as long. For now lets go home to rest you are all heroes and I shall be ever grateful. BELIEVE IT!" The crowds erupted into shouts of euphoria, everyone was celebrating just being there, alive and able to fight another day. Suddenly the crowds split in two and in the middle were the five kages just smiling at Naruto. They slowly made their way towards him who just waited for them with a smile. Gaara was the first to speak.

"I once thought you were just a foolish boy, who would have thought that you would amount to this? You have become a hero, you put your life at risk to save us, and from now to the end of time we shall be grateful. The young fool that everyone looked down on is now the great hero that everyone looks up to." Naruto just smiled and wiped a single tear that had formed in his right eye. Then A, the Raikage, took a step forward.

"When I met your father we were fighting to death against him. He was surely a weird one. Even though we were sworn enemies he still wanted to resort to anything but violence. I though he was insane back then but now I see that he was right. And what better person to carry that ideal than his son." Naruto bowed respectfully to the older kage. Then Mei Terumi, the Mizukage stepped forward./span/p

"When this war started, we agreed that you were to be protected by us so that the kyuubi would be safe. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that it would be you who protected us in the end. You are quite the strong young man, not to mention quite handsome,: she winked at him but Hinata felt a tad bit jealous so she just stepped to his side possessively. "Don't worry my dear girl, I like men with a little more... Experience." With that she left leaving Onoki, the Tsuchikage, to speak.

"I never quite understood you young ones. Always rushing to go somewhere and holding no regard for rules. I thought you could not handle the responsibilities of the future now i see that there is no better person to entrust them to than you," he smiled to the boy in front of him but quickly recovered his original posture. "I still do not like your hard head but you are pretty much okay." As he stepped to the side only Tsunade remained.

"I still remember the young boy who went looking for me. He was foolish, impulsive, hard headed, but he had the purest of intentions. I knew from the moment I saw you that you would accomplish great things. You always worked so hard to earn everyone's respect, even mine. You always strive improve but are humble about it. Jiraiya knew that you would one day save us all. If he were here right now he wold be laughing and saying i told you so, he held the deepest faith in you and loved like his own son, Naruto..." by now they were both crying and Tsunade just went and hugged Naruto sobbing into his shirt. "By now everyone present will know that you are the only one that can help us keep this alliance and obtain true peace... Hokage-sama." The last words were the only par that Naruto could not believe.

"What, baa-chan what are you saying?" Tsunade smiled warmly at him and stepped back to be aside the other kages. /span/p

"You heard me Naruto, from this moment on I am hereby naming you as my successor. The Rokundaime Hokage." He was just standing still, speechless. While everyone else was just cheering for him all he could do was smile. Kakashi was in the side cheering as well, but he had to wipe a couple of tears that threatened to come out.

"A dobe as the Hokage, we are doomed," Sasuke smirked as he walked up to him, standing on his right side wit Sakura under his arm.

"Your official ceremony can be in a couple of years, for now I will teach you about the official duties of the Hokage as the village's representant," Tsunade could not help but see admired what the boy had grown up to become, she just smiled proudly at him, "You already know the part of protecting."

"Nee, Naruto. You still are a numbskull, you're going to need my help. No matter how troublesome it will be for me. We wouldn't want you burning down the village now would we?" Now Shikamaru stood in front of him Temari by his side latching on to his arm.

"Thank you, all of you. But i think Kakashi-sensei has the right to be the next Hokage not me," before he said anything else Kakashi was in front of him waving his hands back and forth in resignation.

"Nope Naruto, you are not pinning this on me! Obito might have wanted me to be the Hokage but I don't. You'll have to fend for yourself in this one. But trust me," he looked at him and smiled,"you'll be just fine."

"Well in that case I'll accept." And having said that he once again turned towards Hinata and kissed her passionately, pointing out to all of the shinobi that she was his, and his only. When they parted Naruto smiled at her then turned towards the shinobi. "Come on everybody we have plenty to do! Even with the war over we have lots of rebuilding to do so lets get to it!" And with that he led the crowds towards the horizon and to their villages in which their families waited for their safe return. Soon Hinata broke the silence and spoke to Naruto.

"N-Naruto-kun? W-What now?" He just smirked at her and said. "I seriously don't know. Hina-hime. Lets just enjoy this moment of peace for as long as we can." With that the crowds fell silent, the only sound heard was the leaves rustling in the wind and the various steps of many shinobi that were now a big family. His family, and he had vowed to protect the until the end of time.


	2. The beginning

Again I don't own Naruto or any of the characters. I own the story plot and have used a phrase from the movie "Jobs", you guys will recognize it but just in case proper mention follows in the end.

It has been a long time. It had been a hard war. But it is finally over. In the end the ones who were our greatest enemies became our greatest friends. We are living proof that people can change. My current wife-to-be was once a timid and clumsy girl who always thought less of herself, she never saw her own strength or her own beauty. But now she is the confident and kind woman I love, she might still be insecure at times but let me tell you that she will never think of herself as weak anymore. One of my best friends was a love struck girl who was always unsure of her huge forehead or what to do about it, now she is a headstrong person whose strength, determination, and temper, rival those of Tsunade herself. My best friend was once a cold ass idiot who was obsessed with revenge, he always pushed people away effectively severing most bonds. Now he is still a cold ass jerk but he is also kind of approachable now, even with that pole up his ass.

There was a small chuckle behind me the young man as he murmured that last part. When he turned around he saw him standing in the doorframe, half mad half amused.

"Are you really going to say that, dobe?" He still called him that, even after 10 years.

"TEME! I am 22 years old, I am the Hokage for god's sake, show some respect!" He just smirked at his antics.

"My respect is something that few people had, or ever will have, you are lucky I only call you dobe!" Naruto's expression changed from anger to that of mischief.

"You are a lost case, a complete idiot!" They were both about to start once again their day long fights when there was a "knock" on the door. Naruto's face grew pale as he turned to see the person whose fists had just pierced through the door.

"Ah! Sakura-chan! What are you doing?" She started to slowly advance towards him and he looked visibly frightened.

"What was that part about 'huge forehead'?" She was PISSED. Naruto knew that and tried to turn to Sasuke for help but he just smirked and sat down.

"Don't look at me, Narto, you know how she is when she turns into a monster." This time Sakura turned around and smacked the Uchiha on the head.

"Ow, Sakura!" When he lifted his head she was smiling at him.

"Sorry ,Sasuke-kun, but you comment was not very nice," he just smirked, once again, and pulled her closer to him by the waist.

"You are so obnoxious."

"You are such a dick." He whispered something into his ear hat made her blush frantically and then he kissed her, until...

"HEY! This is not a hotel room, it is my office, so please if you are going to do THAT just leave!" Sasuke stopped to look at him.

"Do not act so innocently, Naruto, apparently as head of the anbu some people find that it is MY duty to quiet you down at night with 'Hina-Hime'!" The blonde in question immediately quieted down with embarrassment clear in his face.

"NARUTO!" This time Sakura smacked him in the head.

"OW! She is my wife Sakura, I am not a child anymore, you cannot keep hitting me!" But another hit came to his head.

"You might look like a grown up but you still act like a child!" A small chuckle came out of Sasuke's mouth which earned him another smack.

"What did I do?"

"What kind of a comment is that? Whatever he chooses to do in the privacy of his home is not you laughing material!' So it stayed like that for a good 10 minutes, just a bunch of complaints, smacks but in the end also laughs.

"You three are a helpless bunch!" They all turned to look at the person standing in the doorway, book in hand and eyes towards them.

"Kakashi-sensei!" All of them, but Sasuke, was the first to approach him.

"What are you doing here? I thought I had assigned you a mission?" He just lowered his book and offered his usual smile.

"You are not going to get rid of me that easily. I would not miss the was anniversary for the world. Besides, I wanted to see what Sasuke will do this year!" Everyone but Naruto laughed at this. Surprisingly the young Uchiha had a sense of humor, but of course it was at the cost of Naruto's dignity. The first day that he became Hokage Naruto had intended to make a speech that the whole village will never forget. So naturally Sasuke hung a big picture of his ninja i.d. card, the one where his whole face is covered in ceremonial paint with big red letters spelling "first Dobekage". The next year, on the anniversary of the ending of the war, Sasuke had installed a big microphone in the town square and recited all of the, rather lame and embarrassing, poems he had written to Hinata. Last year he had swapped his shampoo with blue paint so he had to attend the big, and public, ceremony with vibrant green hair. Everyone was waiting for this year's show.

"Don't worry, I think you will like it." Naruto just shuddered at the thought of yet another prank.

"You people are too much, I'm going home!" Having said he Hiraishin away. A little while after the war was over Naruto discovered a scroll that was kept in the Konoha secret library that his father had left him so he could learn the secret to perfecting the technique.

"HINATA!" She was stirring a pot when she heard her name being called. She didn't even turned around completely when she was engulfed in a bear hug, her lips captured by him.

"Naruto-kun! Don't jump on me l-like that!" Her stuttering had improved greatly. But she still blushed when he got so close.

"Sorry Hina, but I just can't control myself around you!" She just smiled at his childish antics and pecked him on the cheek.

" Come on we have to get ready! Neji nee-san will be here in an hour!" She turned around to go to their bedroom but she was swept of her feet and carried to the bathroom.

"Then we better freshen up first! How about a bath?" She just sighed and rested her head on his chest, letting herself be carried away as the door was closed behind them. And we all know what will happen (wink, wink).

[Scene Change]

"Come on Neji! We are going to be late!" Tenten was trying frantically to pull the Hyuuga to make him go faster. But to no avail he was walking calmly.

"Calm down Tenten! You are pregnant for god's sake!"

"Pregnant or not you are too FUCKING SLOW! We took 2 fucking hours to do that favor when it should have taken only 10 minutes!" She started to give him the nagging of a lifetime, but he just kept on walking.

"Hey, HYUUGA!" She was about to run after him but she tripped over a rock. She was about to fall down when two arms reached out to catch her.

"You have to be careful." He looked serious but she knew better.

"You act all tough but in the inside you are a small puppy!" She gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you!"

"(Sigh)... You know it has been a crazy year." Neji looked puzzled at her comment.

"What do you mean?" She grabbed his hand and once again started to walk.

"You know... Everything that your clan did."

"Hmmm..." She was right, after all he was living proof of it. The caged bird seal had worn out after his death and it did not come back like he did. The elders were outraged and had been wanting to reseal him, but this time they were the ones being yelled at. No one in the entire clan listened, not even the main branch's leader Hyuuga Hiashi. He told them that from that point on there would be no branch family, only the Hyuuga family. The day that followed every single branch member was freed from the seal and the jutsu itself was put in the Hokage's kinjutsu scroll. The leadership of the clan would consist of a group of three selected from all of the Hyuuga. Of course the first three were chosen instantly and unanimously. They were Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Hinata, and of course, Hyuuga Hiashi; because for now he was the only one that had the proper knowledge, and age, to watch over the official business.

"That was not all that surprised us, remember?" They both started chuckling. It had been a couple of weeks since the war was over and the people were all back on their homes when it happened. Konohamaru had been puzzled as to why Naruto had decided on such a weird girls, she was the complete opposite of him.

FLASHBACK

A 13 year old named Konohamaru was walking in the middle of the Konoha market until he saw his rival, mentor, and brother.

"Huh? Naruto nee-san!" Konohamaru started to run towards him with the intention of getting Naruto to teach him the Futon: Rasen-Shuriken (konohamaru fail). When he saw a woman standing beside him.

"Naruto! Who is this?" The man in question turned towards him as did she.

"Konohamaru! O yeah Hina, this is Sarutobi Konohamaru. Konohamaru, this is Hinata, Hinata Hyuuga. She is my girlfriend!" The tone he used was a proud one as if he were bragging to the world. She blushed when he said those words but still bowed to Konohamaru.

"P-pleased to m-meet you, Konohamaru-san!" He was taken aback by her impressively respectful manners towards him.

"Huh? Hey boss what happened to Sakura?" Hinata was a little hurt by the comment but when she looked up he was smiling at her. "She seems a lot nicer, I LIKE HER!" He then gave her a thumbs up.

"Konohamaru!" Naruto's voice was serious. "There is one more lesson that Jiraiya-sensei taught me that is actually important. He said that to find true love, you need not find a person that is appealing to the eye, but appealing to your heart.."

Of course the boy looked like he saw a pink elephant with dragon wings.

"What do you mean boss?" Naruto just smiled knowingly at him.

"What is the first thing that people say about me?"

"THAT YOU ARE A LOUDMOUTHED IDIOT!" He looked so proud of his answer that Naruto had not the courage to say anything but instead continue with the lesson.

"Exactly, and as you may have noticed Sakura-chan is loud as well, and very temperamental, If we tried to make it work we would have just been shouting at each other for years and years and I would have gotten concussions every day. But Hinata here." He pulled her closer too him by the waist. "She is tender and calm. Where others would shout in rage she listens with care. She is a strong spirit that will always be there for anyone who needs her. And that is why I chose her."

"N-naruto-kun. Arigato." She wrapped her arms around her neck.

"One day you will need to do the same, that moment you should find someone who you KNOW will make you feel weak and at the same time strong." Having said that the couple walked away, leaving a pondering Konohamaru in the middle of the street.

"What did he mean ?" Just then he heard his name being called.

"Ehh, Konohamaru!" It was Hinata's little sister, Hanabi Hyuuga. After the war Konohamaru had stuck to Naruto like glue, trying to get him to train 24/7 with him. Of course there were times where he found himself right outside the Hyuuga estate. So often he had to deal with the little devil genius. But after some time he found that he actually enjoyed the girl's company. Unlike his own teammates she actually had the guts to go with him on his adventures and only said what was necessary to cheer him up.

"Hanabi-chan!" He ran to greet her and stopped right in front of her. "What are you doing here?" She had a devious smile in her face that made him nervous, but strangely not on the bad way.

"Come on, I want to show you something." She reached out for his hand and before he knew it he was being dragged through the Konoha rooftops to what seemed to be the forest of death.

"H-hanabi! I don't think we are supposed to be here. No one will be able to find us!" She just turned to look at him and smiled.

"Exactly!" He actually tripped after she said that. She only giggled and kept on going.

"Wait! Hanabi-chan."

"Hurry up Konohamaru-kun, you have to catch up!" She started to laugh softly,

"Darn, her laugh is beautiful... Wait WHAT?" Konohmaru was now a confused mess. "Is this what Naruto nee-san described as love?" He got so lost in his thoughts that he missed a tree that was in front of him. SLAM!

"Konohamaru!" Hanabi had stopped in her tracks to go check on him. "Hey are you alright?"

"Of course! Why wouldn't I be. I mean you are looking at the future 7th Hokage!" Hanabig just sighed.

"You are still intent on that? You know Naruto nee-san is still quite young right? He is quite strong and no doubt going to become Hokage, he is also not going to quit, or die, anytime soon in the next 40 or 50 years!" Konohamaru jus smiled.

"Being Hokage is not just about having the title. It is also about protecting those around you, protecting those you love." Their eyes met and they were both strangely hypnotized and were slowly closing the distance between them, until...

"ROOOAAAARRR!" A huge bear came from deep within the woods in rage. The huge beast lashed out at Hanabi with one of its huge paws. She got into the Hyuuga battle stance but before the bear reached her Konohamaru stood in the way his arms reaching extended to stop the bears paw. He slowly started to push the bear back andwith one last effort the bear was pushed against a small cliff, it fell down roaring and crashed down on a lake, it later surfaced and walked away.

"Damn it Konohamaru why did you do that I had it under control!"

"What's the matter? Nothing went wrong! Now what was that you wanted to show me?" Instead of answering him she just grew blushed and whispered something.

"What was that I couldn't hear you?" She blushed even more and signaled him to move closer.

"You know you are acting quite weird a..." He could not continue because a certain someone had her arms around his neck and her lips on his. After a few seconds she let go to catch her breath.

"I said that I l-likeyouverymuchandwouldyouliketogoout?" Konohamaru kooked visibly shocked but after a few seconds he started laughing. "It's not funny. S-stop laughing!" Tears were starting to form in the corner of her eyes. He stopped laughing and slowly walked towards her. She wanted to run, but he grabbed her wrist and then gently turned her around and grasped her chin with his hand.

"I am not laughing at you, I am laughing at how you are acting! Getting so flustered about such a thing when," he lifted her chin, "I think that I might feel like you do. I get nervous when I;m around you and don't know what to say. I start sweating like crazy and before i know it Istarttotalkrealfastandforgettobreathand..." She pressed her index finger on his mouth.

"Just shut up." She kissed him again but this time more sweetly and less rushed,

END FLASHBACK

"You remember how love-struck Hanabi was after that?" Neji shuddered at Tenten's words.

"You need not to remind me. She used to force me to sit with her and listen to her 'beautiful day' while she braided my hair." He looked terrified at the memories but Tenten only laughed.

"Like a chip of the old bark. The knuckle-head fell for the Hyuuga." She sighed deeply. "How time passes Neji... When did we change so much?"

"Probably at the same moment when reading Jiraiya-sama's bok went from being disgusting to somewhat inspiring."

"Yeah look where that got us." She was pooking her slightly stretched belly with her finger.

"This is not something to be ashamed of, I for one am rather content." She grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Don't misinterpret what I said. I am also looking forward to taking care of MY son. It's just that..." Neji stopped walking to look at her, her face looked nervous.

"Is something the matter Tenten?"

"What if he comes out as stubborn as you? I already have enough in my hands!" Neji just laughed at her comment and bent forward to kiss her forehead.

"Come on we are almost there." The couple resumed their journey once more to the new Uzumaki estate.

[Scene Change]

There is a small boy, of about 6 years of age, running around the streets looking for someone. He had short black hair and tan skin. He was running in the streets until he spotted someone else.

"Huh? Teemari nee-chan!" The little boy hugged her and snuffled his head on her leg.

"Hey Hiruzen long time no see, I'm gad to see that you are already so fast but you know your mother doesn't like you running around the village!" The little boy just put his hands on his pockets and puffed his cheeks.

"But I'm looking for... Shikamaru-sensei!" Behind Temari stood Shikamaru. He had Asuma's headband tied around his arm, his own on his head, and was currently smoking cigarette, a habit he picked up to remember Asuma (or so he said).

"Firm and tall young pupil!" Instantaneously the young boy stuck his chest out and put his arms firmly on his sides like a little soldier.

"Now..." he raised his arms, "come here." The young boy jumped to hug him and started laughing.

"Everyday you look more and more like your father, you know that?" The little boy smiled proudly.

"I am going to be just like my daddy! I will become strong and protect Konoja!" He had stricken a kind of heroic pose with his fist in the air. Shikamaru and Temari just giggled at his behavior.

"Hiruzen!" Kurenai was standing right behind him with her hands on her waist. "Hiruzen Sarutobi I told you to take out the trash not just hide it behind the door!"

"But mom! A ninja doesn't have to take out the trash." He was pouting and crossed his arms.

"Now now, Hiruzen," Shikamaru ruffled the boy's hair," you have to listen to your mother... Tell you what, if you go and take out the trash I'll buy you some ice-cream, how does that sound?" The boys face lit up in an instant.

"Yay, don't worry sensei I will take out the trash immediately ninja style." He then pulled out a small homemade smoke bomb and threw it at the ground. It was not very well done so it dissipated immediately and everyone turned their heads to see that Hiruzen was slowly crawling home on the other side of the street.

"It can't be helped! That boy just can't stay still. Every time I tell him to do something he makes up the excuse that he has to go and help the village or something." Shikamaru just laughed at Kurenai's words.

"He is without a doubt Asuma-sensei's son. One day he is going to be one of the finest shinobi in the village." Kurenai's expression softened at his words.

"I know that if Asuma was here he would be proud. Of him and of you." She met his stare and smiled fondly at him.

"Arigato, Kurenai-sensei." There was a small comfortable silence until it seemed that Kurenai remembered something.

"Ohh! Shikamaru, I talked to the people that you had asked me to. They said that it will definitely be done."

"Perfect! I have already been through too much for something to fail now."

"So I've heard. Well it's been nice seeing you two around and I would like to talk with Temari more but I have to make dinner. Bye Shikamaru, Temari!" She started to walk towards her home waving back at them.

"Bye Kurenai-Sensei!" She was now out of sight and the couple just stayed quiet.

"You know you are spoiling him too much Shika," she looked sternly at him, "he always looks at you to avoid doing chores." Shikamaru just sighed at her.

"I know but I can't help it," he shifted his gaze towards the clouds, "he reminds me so much of Asuma that sometimes I can't be strict towards him." He heard some footsteps coming towards him and then he felt Temari's arms embracing him. Her head was resting on his chest. He lifted his arms to return her hug.

"You are such a drag." He looked down.

"You are such a lazy-ass." She looked up. He pulled her closer to his her softly.

"You are not one for much affection, but that makes every bit all the more special!" She started to giggle in his chest.

"What's the matter with you?"

"Remember the time that you asked me to be your girlfriend?" Shikamaru just sighed.

FLASHBACK

The Sunagakure office of the Kazekage was currently only being occupied by the Kazekage and his wife, Matsuri. Gaara was just reading over some documents while Matusuri was on the other side of the room eyeing over some mission reports. She stopped and sighed of boredom, so she decided to get up and walked over to Gaara.

"What are you doing Gaara-kun?" She was leaning over his shoulder looking at the documents he had.

"Oh it's nothing. Just a small petition from a friend in Konohagakure. Would you be as kind as to remind me to go to the market and talk to the merchants?" She bent over and pecked him on the cheek.

"Anything for you." He smiled at her.

"Matsuri..."

"Hmm?"

"You missed." She smiled at him. She bent over once more to kiss him again, this time on the lips.

"GAARA! MATSURI!" Temari had just barged into their little scene in the office. The couple in question was left in shock with their faces still far too close.

"Aaawwww that's soooo cute!" Gaara snapped back to his senses and quickly turned to look at her with a stern face, and a deep blush.

"Temari I told you to knock before coming in!" Temari just laughed at him.

"AAWWWWW! You are BLUSHING! I just hope that if you ever get out of line you use protection!" Now both Gaara and Matsuri were blushing deeply.

"(Cough, Cough) What is the matter Temari, why have you come here?" Teemari stopped her love struck phase and got serious.

"Shika-kun... I mean Shikamaru-san has come bearing a message!" She had hoped that neither of them had heard her but it was evident in their faces that they had.

"Well then Temari, could you tell me where Shika-kun is?" Matsuri started giggling while Temari's face went red as a tomato.

"He is resting in on the inn down the street..." With that she lowered her head to try to hide her blush and scurried out the and Matsuri laughed uncontrollably for a couple of minutes until Gaara cleared his throat and started to speak.

"I'm sorry Matsuri but I have to leave for now." He kissed the top of her head and started to walk to the exit, but Matsuri had another idea.

"Gaara-kun..." Gaara had not completely exited the room before a hand pulled him in and closed the door. She started to kiss him until he held her wrist with his own hands and lowered them.

"Don't forget Matsuri we have a guest. We need to go greet him and listen to what he has to say. Come on." He started to walk to the exit when he heard that Matsuri sighed in disappointment. "Don't worry just wait until night falls and..." He whispered something into her ear and then slapped her ass. She squeaked in surprise but was quick to follow him out into the street.

Shikamaru was resting in a relatively large room in Sunagakure. The trip from the Leaf normally takes two days, but thanks to his impressive luck there had been three consecutive rainstorms in the Fire Country. And right after that a humongous sandstorm in the border of the Wind County. He was covered completely with mud from head to toes for four days. FOUR. So it was only natural that the first thing he did was clean it off. Seeing that he had arrived in the early morning there was a slim chance that anyone would fetch him for a couple of hours. So he did something no self-respecting shinobi does. He took a long and relaxing bubble bath. Seeing as the inn was frequented by dignitaries from other countries each room had its own installations so there was no need for him to leave the room. He prepared everything and then disappeared into the bathroom. He stayed there until he heard a knock on his door.

"Coming!" Since he thought that Kankuro would be the one knocking he didn't bother to put on anything more thana single towel. To his surprise it was Temari's face that he saw when he opened the door. "Temari! W-what are you doing here?"

"I was just checking on you. Well it seems that you are okay so I'll take my leave then." She was about to leave but he grabbed her wrist.

"Wait Temari! I have to talk to you about something and better now than latter." She nodded and entered the room with a blush in her face. "First off let me at least put on some pants." Since his whole clothing was covered in mud, even the spare, he decided to only put on pants. After all, what harm could it cause? He came out of the bathroom and he saw that Temari was rummaging through the letters he carried in his pack.

"Who are these for?"

"Your brother Gaara. There are a couple of people in Konoha that needed t ask a few favors of him. Anyway why are you reading them?" She turned her head to smile at him.

"Do you forget that I'm one of the Kazekage's advisers? I have the standing to read these, 'sides it's not like there is something here tha- huh? What is this?" In her hand lay a single letter that was addressed to her. "Is this YOUR handwriting?"

"Wait Temari, don't open tha-" He tried to stop her but she had already started reading it.

Temari. You are a very troublesome person. You are loud, annoying, and you are always shouting at me. You are also extremely bossy and you never let me relax. But in that I also take part. Whenever I'm around you I feel weird. I get a strange feeling that makes me want to do everything. I can't explain it. My head becomes a typhoon of emotions and I get clumsy. I hate you for that. I hate you for the fact that you made me...

"Made me what? Where is the rest." She felt a hand on her chin and her face was softly lifted to meet his.

"I hate you because you made me fall in love with you. I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend. You are a very troublesome but amazing woman and... Shit I can't even speak. Just say yes." She smiled and started to close the distance.

"Lazy ass bastard." He was about to say something when she kissed him deeply. She raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck. He snaked his arms around her waist and lifted her a little. The kiss was getting a little heated when the door suddenly opened. Shikamaru was about to tell the person to fuck off when he saw who it was.

"Gaara?!" He suddenly realized the position that he was in. He was making out with his sister, he was also shirtless and one of his arms had found its way to her ass. "Wait it is NOT what you think!" And that's when the fight started. He was chased around Suna for several hours until Temari managed to calm Gaara down. But when they went to find Shikamaru he was cornered in an alley in fetal position. When he spotted Gaara he started to cry and was trying to claw his way up the walls. Instead of telling him to chill out Temari pulled out a camera and took several pictures of him.

END FLASHBACK

"You are never going to let me live that down are you?" She had to stand on her toes to reach his ear and whisper.

"Not for as long as I'm by your side." He turned his head to smile at her.

"Then I hope that I never get to forget it..." He kissed her again and this time they remained in that position for a little while longer until Shikamaru separated himself to speak. "Come on Temari, we have to finish that job we were assigned." Having said that he grabbed her hand and they both started to walk away.

[Scene Change]

The ceremony this year had been held in the Konoha town center. Several little shops were temporarily relocated to make space for the massive crowds that would come from all of the villages. Even the Kages were present in order to remember the tragic events of the war that had taken place all those years ago. There were around ten thousand people in the village right now. The young Hokage was both excited and frightened. Never before have there been so many people that would be witnesses to Sasuke's plots. There was an infinity of things he could have come up with.

(The scenarios play out in his head in the form of little cartoony versions of them)

"Maybe he rigged my microphone so when I talk my voice will get really high and everyone will laugh at me!"

"Or perhaps he will put a big batch of goo above me and release it when I go on stage!"

"Or he might might laxatives in my food so I will get diarrhea in the middle of my speech" He heard a knock on the door that made his jump and scream like a little child. "C-come on in!"

"Oi, Dobe." Sasuke entered with a bowl of ramen in his hands. "Hinata told me to give this to you, she said you skipped breakfast." Naruto's face lit up for a brief second before he got suspicious.

"What is in it?" Sasuke seemed a little shocked at his reaction.\

"What the hell do I know, I didn't make it." Naruto still doubted.

"But how do I know that you didn't mess with it?" Sasuke smirked at this.

"You are wise to doubt anything that I bring you but... Take my word for it, this is not my prank." He left the bowl in a nearby table and started to walk out, when he opened the door he took one step and then spoke again, "my plan will unveil when you least expect it." He then closed the door, leaving Naruto alone with his thoughts.

"Damn it! Should I eat it?" Just then a loud growl was heard, it was his stomach yearning for food. "Ahh Fuck it!" He then proceeded to chug the whole thing down in less than five seconds. Just as he laid the bowl down Hinata entered the room.

"Hi Naruto-kun," she then turned her attention to the bowl, "I see that Sasuke-kun did what I asked him to." Naruto just patted his belly.

"Yep, and let me tell you it was delicious!" He then dashed towards her and grabbed her from behind. "Arigato, Hina-hime." He kissed her neck slowly. "I know what else is delicious!" That made Hinata giggle a little, she turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck and started to kiss him. But suddenly the door flew open once more, but this time it was Sakura.

"Hey Naruto! Hinata! Stop eating each other, the ceremony starts in five minutes!" Hinata's face was slightly blushed because of her comment. Naruto's face on the other hand was filled with surprise.

"Oh shit!" He grabbed Hinata's hand and just darted towards the exit leaving Sakura alone with her thoughts.

"Baka! Don't just leave me here all alone!" She turned around and took the same path as they did to quickly end up in the middle of the war anniversary festival. There were food stands everywhere, selling all kinds of food, from a large variety of sweets to huge bowls of ramen. There were also huge amusement park rides for all to enjoy. There were several carousels and game booths with all sorts of prizes. There was a giant Ferris-wheel that was as tall as the Hokage building. But definitely the most eye catching attraction was the large stage set up in the middle of it all. It was filled with colorful drapes that cascaded down from the roof. All around it were colorful lights that made the whole thing look like a dream. Yet the whole scenery was shattered with the loud voice of the loudest shinobi in the world.

"EXCUSE ME! COMING THROUGH!" Apparently the place was so crowded that they were having a hard time passing through. It was taking them too long to cross the town square, and the ceremony was beginning. Tsunade had walked up to the center of the stage to give a start to the ceremony.

"Good evening to all of you, we are here to remember the war that took place all those years ago. It was a horrible turn of events that almost caused the destruction of the whole world. We were severely outmatched and defeat looked imminent. But luckily for us four people rose up to the challenge, and it makes me immensely proud to say that one of them was my own dear student. They were Haruno Sakura, Hatake Kakashi, Uchiha Sasuke, and our very own Hokage: Uzumaki Naruto! And now we will hear a speech from Naruto himself!" She motioned to the backstage were he should have been but no once came out. The whole place went silent and a couple of people coughed awkwardly. Tsunade was visibly furious. Then someone landed on stage.

"I'm here Granny Tsunade!" The mentioned woman raised her arm and swiftly smacked him on the head.

"BAKA! I told you to be here on time!"

"Granny come on, stop hitting me in front of so many people!" Yet he was smacked again.

"Serves you right! Now everyone will know how stupid you are!" The crowds in front of them erupted into laughter. Naruto sighed and just laughed with them.

"All right everyone, how about we leave all that behind us and we move on with the ceremony!" He walked up to he front of the stage and everyone started cheering and clapping. "All right, thank you. I know I'm awesome but I can't take all of the credit. I received help from many other great shinobi: All of the brave shinobi from the many nations that participated in the war, Sasuke's brother Itachi Uchiha, all of our past Hokage, Obito Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi-sensei, and even Sasuke-teme himself. If it were not for all of them, that war would have been over." He started to pace around, obviously he can't stay put.

"To be honest, there was a time during which even I had lost hope. All around me my friends and comrades were suffering, some even died in front of me. I know that most of you here know how that feels. For me it was just too much. But then an angel came to my rescue. She literally slapped me back to my senses. You know it kinda hurt!" He started rubbing his cheek and everyone started laughing. "What I mean is that... I am nothing without my friends. They made who I am today. And I just want to say that-" A smoke bomb covered the entire stage and a loud voice resonated throughout the town square.

"And now the moment we have ALL been waiting for!" It was Sasuke. Naruto's face became as white as snow and he frantically looked around to try and find him.

"Teme! What are you doing?!" Then suddenly a big fireworks show illuminated the sky, it all seemed random at first but then it was obvious what they were. All across the sky were the symbols for each of the major villages all together inside a big circle. The crowds were frozen in awe, except for Naruto who knew better than to fall for that distraction. He looked everywhere and did not realize that the fireworks had stopped and instead all of the lights were focused on the Hokage monument. There at the very top stood Hinata, Sakura, and Sasuke, but he grasping a mysterious rope with his hands. Under him on the edge, right above Naruto's own carved stone head was a giant rolled up piece of cloth.

'Ahh man! What is he doing now?!" Sasuke pulled on the rope and the huge scroll unwrapped but surprisingly it was completely blank. Naruto was completely confused as to why he had gone through the trouble of hanging a completely empty paper. Until...

"Play the video!" Now it made sense. It was not a poster but a video-screen. The whole paper was filled with the images that a projector in the Hokage office now emitted. It started off as everyone would have expected. It was all pictures of Naruto's failed attempts at getting everyone to recognize him. Some pictures of his filthy apartment. The numerous times he ended up with a bruise on his head. And of course his really embarrassing picture, but something was different. There was a small message that read "The idiot..."

"Why would Sasuketeme end with an ellipsis?" Then the picture changed. He was left speechless. The whole village went silent. It was a picture of him with all of his friends right after the war, everyone was smiling at his direction. And in the top of the picture were the words "who became a hero!" Then Sasuke held the microphone to his face and talked.

"Lets face it, we all thought he was an idiot at one point, heck some of us still think that. But, you know? This idiot never gave up on me." Then Sakura started to speak.

"He always tried his hardest to protect those around him. He made it his personal mission to find peace at any cost."

"He endured the hardships that came with being a Jinchuriki with his head held high. He was always shouted at or being pushed or kicked around. He always sought the acceptance of the village but he was always met with indifference. And in the end no matter how bad we treated him, when we were in trouble. He chose to protect us." Sasuke took a step forward.

"He is really crazy to believe that he can truly change the world but, in the end those people are usually the ones who do. And thanks to him we all have a home to return to. All of us... The least we can do is thank him." He then did something no living being in the world thought possible. He was bowing down to Naruto. What he said next was even more impressive. "Arigato, Naruto!" No insult of any kind. Just a heartfelt apology. Then everyone around him started to bow down as well. Even the shinobi from other villages were bowing. Naruto was now crying but he could not let himself be seen like that by the other kage so he wiped his face on his sleeve and jumped over to the Hokage monument. And before anyone could say anything else he engulfed them in a bear hug.

"Arigato, all of you! But..." He lowered them and wiped away the tears once more. "As it told you, I am nothing," he grabbed Hinata's hand, "without you guys!" Everyone was holding hands and lifting them up towards the clouds, everyone was cheering for them, except for one person who was calmly smiling.

"Nawaki, Dan, Ojichan. You can all rest peacefully knowing that he leaf's will of fire can't have better successors. And Minato, Kushina, Jiraiya. You can rest knowing, that you couldn't have asked for a better son. Because this boy is going to accomplish great things..."

The End (Now for real)

The phrase "those crazy enough to believe that they can change the world are the ones who do," is the one I borrowed. I have no ownership of it, it belongs to the people behind the movie "Jobs", or Steve himself.


End file.
